The Cinderella
Reflecting positive attribution of cultural diversity through the story of Cinderella.
Coming this Spring
ABOUT "THE CINDERELLA"
Artist: Quan (Reina Tan Ying Quan)
Program of Study: Bachelor of Visual Arts, Year 3. Southern Institute of Technology, New Zealand.
Title of work: The Cinderella
Medium: Ink and Paper
My illustration, "The Cinderella" shows the positive attribution of cultural diversity based on my experience living as a Chinese Malaysian woman in Malaysia and New Zealand. The illustration is based on the story, Cinderella that has been told in the Malay, Chinese and New Zealand culture. They are Yeh-Xian (Chinese version), Cendrillon (Popular in New Zealand that incorporates European-French version), and Bawang Puteh and Bawang Merah (Malay version). The Cinderella character is a reflection of myself on the issue of diversity.
Cultural diversity is a stage that people nowadays have to face when many cultures merge in a living environment like Malaysia. Malaysia is a multi-diversified country that consists of 3 major ethnicities: the Malays, Chinese and Indians. Growing up in Malaysia as the 4th generation of Chinese Malaysian, racial discrimination has been a severe issue, particularly between Malay and Chinese ethnicity. The cause was created by the corrupted political party Barisan National (BN), that used racial differences as a political tool to win in elections. It also widens the gap between cultures in Malaysia.
Coming to New Zealand helps me to accept and respect people of different cultures. Some events that are based on each respective country, like Malaysia, China, Indonesia helps New Zealanders to engage and understand these new cultures in their society. Through this event, people from a different country will feel valued and accepted into this foreign environment. For me, cultural diversity able to produce a healthy community that creates more innovative and imaginative ideas. The illustration of "The Cinderella" helps to define the similarity of a human being despite their cultural differences.
Globalization makes the world a diversified community. I hope that my work encourages others to accept and view diversity from a different perspective.
